


I Worked This Out For Sure

by orphan_account



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 17:49:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6161548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Simon does not have a crush on that guy that lives in his building with whom he argues regularly. Until they get stuck in an elevator together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Worked This Out For Sure

**Author's Note:**

> So, have something clichéd because I love people being stuck in tiny spaces and working out their stuff.  
> This, too, is for Ella who asked for Jace/Simon _or_ Isabelle/Lydia. Oops.

There's a guy that lives in Simon's building.

Simon doesn't like him. Clary finds him amusing, although Simon suspects that this is not so much due to the fact that she's actually spoken to him without one of them storming off and the other one left standing with their arms crossed and their jaw clenched. It's probably more to do with the way Simon talks about him, which always ends with her looking at him like she knows a secret he hasn't figured out yet.  
Simon chooses to chalk her amusement up to his entertaining reenactment of every conversation he's ever had with the guy. 

So, when Simon gets on the elevator and Jace is stepping on afterwards Simon's stomach plummets naturally.  
Jace doesn't say anything and Simon is glad, he _is_ , until there's a jolt that almost brings Simon to his knees if it wasn't for his excellent reflexes that make him reach out to his left, purely coincidentally, and pull himself up on Jace's arm. 

Jace looks down at Simon's hand for a second, before he tilts up his head and rolls his eyes.  
"You have got to be kidding me." 

Simon retrieves his hand when he thinks it has been an appropriate amount of time.  
"Please tell me the elevator didn't just stop," he says and hopes his voice isn't wavering.  
"The elevator just stopped," Jace says. He doesn't seem out of sorts at all, the frown on his forehead is more calculating, his eyes sweeping every corner. It causes a rather irritating fluttering feeling in Simon's chest.

He shakes it off, though, because he's stuck with the guy, so he's not going to try and start a fight. Instead he moves towards the door to press the Call button.  
After they've been informed that help is on the way but it might take a while, Simon lowers himself to the ground. Jace doesn't seem to be content with waiting, though.  
"We could climb out," he suggests and Simon hopes the expression on his face reflects the disbelief he's feeling.  
"What? Are you serious? Who do you think you are? John McClane?" 

Jace looks down at him.  
"Who's John McClane?"  
"Oh my- You're kidding, right? _Die Hard_?" There's no recognition on Jace's face.  
"Wow man, you're lack of knowledge on pop culture is getting increasingly worrying." 

Simon resists the urge to squirm under Jace's gaze.  
"Look, just sit down and wait until they get us out of here."  
"I could make that climb," Jace mutters and Simon assumes that he's not supposed to hear that, but he can't hold back his snort. Jace sits down, too, though, after inspecting the floor for the best spot, of course. 

They manage five minutes of silence.

"I can't believe you've never watched _Die Hard_." Jace gives a long suffering sigh, like they've been in this elevator for fifteen years instead of fifteen minutes.  
"What can I say? I have better things to do."  
"All the time?" Simon asks.  
"Is it very hard for you to imagine being that popular?" 

Simon can feel his frustration bleeding into the crease between his eyebrows.  
"You have like two friends!"  
"That's still more than one." Simon splutters, but recovers quicker than usual when he sees the smug look on Jace's face.  
"I have more than one friend! There- There's Eric and, uh, Maureen-"  
"Who was in a cult."  
"Cult is a little extreme, it wasn't so much a cu- wait, how do you even _know_ that?" Jace raises an eyebrow. His legs are crossed and his shirt sleeves are rolled up, revealing very distracting forearms, mainly because Simon would really like to know what that tattoo, that is half hidden by his shirt, means.

"Seriously," Simon says and extends his legs, ignoring the way his feet are almost touching Jace's knees, "how do you know that?"  
"Clary told me," Jace replies as if that isn't the single most terrifying thing Simon has heard all day.  
"You talked to Clary about me?" He can't interpret the expression that crosses Jace's face, gone in an instant and replaced by a cocky grin that makes Simon want to grab his face and do anything to make it disappear.

"Unfortunately you're involved in a lot of her stories." Simon kicks him, which seems to be worthy of a scoff.  
"That is... kind of disturbing."  
"No," Jace says, smiling crookedly and making Simon's stomach churn, "disturbing is you thinking that biting your stalker back stage is a great idea."  
"Alright!" Simon says a tick too loudly, ignoring the heat slithering up his cheeks, and curses Clary.  
"In my defense, I was high, okay? Eric slipped me something, because he's a crazy person-"  
"You're right, your friends are so much better than mine."  
"- and Maureen wasn't a _'stalker'_ , she was just a fan-"  
"A fan in a cult."  
"Will you stop that!"

Simon doesn't even notice that he's moved to kneeling two feet apart from Jace. He doesn't notice because Jace is leaning forward and, well, that has never happened before, so Simon is a little preoccupied with thinking _what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck_.

"You know, Clary thinks you have a little crush on me." Which-  
"What? What kind of change of topic is that?" And Jace actually, honest to god laughs, and Simon thinks it sounds a little hollow, but Jace still looks completely comfortable where he leans back against the elevator wall again. 

_Fuck_ him.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell her about the lovesick-puppy looks you always give her." Simon is pretty sure his head shouldn't be spinning just from being so close to a person.  
"I'm not in love with Clary," he says, because it's the only thing he can think of saying.  
"Sure you aren't." He says it so easily that it tears at Simon's heart.

He needs to sit down. His knees very carefully aren't touching Jace's.

"I was," he says and looks down at his fiddling hands.  
"In middle school. And, yeah, a little bit of high school. Then I watched one too many movies where the best friend gets the girl in the end and it kind of stopped being believable." Partly true. The rant Clary went on about how that ending was _so unrealistic, it's not like he's the only nice guy in the world_ also gave him a little hint.  
"Is that supposed to make sense to me?" It's kind of surprising that that question gives Simon the confidence to look up again.

"I realised that being Clary's best friend is pretty fucking awesome and then I let it go." It sounds a little easy. Seeing Clary starting to date was painful at first but in the end it was seeing her look at Maia that made Simon notice how he could smile to himself because she was happy without that specific twinge of jealousy in his chest.

Jace is looking at him and props up his leg to rest his arm on his knee which should infuriate Simon, because it looks so arrogant. And it is. Unfortunately it's also incredibly attractive, _damnit_!

"So, you do have a crush on me." He looks very satisfied at that and Simon hates that he's stuck in here, because it makes him feel trapped all of the sudden. Because maybe he does have a little (gigantic) crush on Jace but the fact is that he has no idea how to deny it believably and no clue how Jace will react if he knows for sure.

"That's not what I said," he says slowly, without being certain if that's the right approach. Jace is still smiling and Simon can't help but look at him, because apparently he's pathetic like that.  
"I don't blame you," Jace says, still looking extraordinarily pleased with himself and therefore giving Simon ground to stand on again.  
"You wouldn't," he scowls and ignores the fact that he's practically admitting to being attracted to Jace Herondale here.

But then Jace extends the leg his arm is not resting on, which means Simon is now pretty much sitting between his legs, and reaches for Simon, tugging him forward and Simon goes, because he can and he kind of wants to and also Jace is freakishly strong, which is very interesting.

"I wouldn't," he affirms, his eyes roaming all over Simon's face. And then he's kissing Simon and by some wonder of nature Simon actually manages to reciprocate even though he's still dizzy.

So, alright, maybe he owes Clary an extra cool birthday gift this year.


End file.
